Allen Wins in Overtime, Game Recaps, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Today's Preview, Standings Tightening, Roster Reduction and More

 

It was another win for the Allen Americans last night as they defeated Utah 3-2 in overtime. Just like the win against Utah on Wednesday, the #1 star of the game was Brayden Watts who scored the game winning goal and the #2 star was goalie Dylan Wells who stopped 45 of 47 shots for a .957 save percentage. 

 

- Last night Watts factored in all three Allen goals. He scored the Americans first goal after Allen fell behind in the opening period. He assisted on Allen's second goal scored by Spencer Asuchak to give the Americans a 2-1 lead. He scored the game winner on the power play at the 6:31 mark of overtime. 

 

- With the win Allen improved its record to 4-5-1-0 and has now won four of the last five games and improved its point percentage from .100 on November 1 to .450 with a chance to get to .500 with a win against Utah tonight.

 

- Special teams played a big part in the overtime period. Allen took a penalty with one second remaining in regulation time which carried over to the overtime period. Allen killed off the 4-on-3 power play thanks to some great saves by Dylan Wells. A couple of minutes later Utah took a penalty and Allen capitalized with the Watts game winner with just 29 seconds remaining in the overtime period. 

 

- The Americans are still last in the league in average goals allowed per game (4.40), but in their last three wins Allen has allowed just five goals (1.67 per game). 

 

- Asuchak's goal last night was his third of the season, all coming in the last three games. He has nine points (3G, 6A) in the last five games. Watts scored his fifth and sixth goals last night. In the last five games he has nine points (5G, 4A).

 

- How big of a turn around has goalie Dylan Wells had. Here are his save percentages in the seven games he has played this season starting with opening night. Last night was his second 45 save win in the last week. He has two of the top four save games in the league this season.

• .784
• .793
• .909
• .957
• .963
• .957

 

- Last night was the tale of two periods. Allen outshot Utah 15 -8 in the first period and Utah turned the tables in second period outshooting the Americans 20-7. The second period has been a problem all season for Allen. The Americans have been outshot 160-80 in the second period and have been outscored 14-5. 

 

- Here are the game recaps from both teams and the video highlights:

• Allen Americans game recap: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/game-recap-americans-beat-utah-3-2-in-overtime
• Utah Grizzlies game recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2024/11/grizz-earn-standings-point-in-3-2-ot-loss-at-allen
• Video Highlights: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-nov-15-2024 
   

- Allen has a chance to do something tonight they haven't accomplished since 2021-22. Sweep a three games series at home. The same keys to the game apply as last night which was a bit of a mixed bag:

• Get off to a good start by scoring the first goal.
• Limit the neutral zone turnovers, if there isn't a play to be made, dump the puck.
• Win the 50-50 battles.
  
• Win the special teams battle and take advantage of Utah's penalty kill.
• Keep the shots close.
• Continue the excellent goaltending. 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I had a chance to catch up with coach B.J Adams after the game and ask him a few questions. Here is what he had to say:

Q: How big was your special teams play, especially in the overtime period?

A: I didn't like the way we killed the 5-on-3 when they scored. We weren't setup very well for that  goal structurally. But the kill in overtime was big and then those guys coming thorough on the power play was great.

Q: What was the difference in how the team was playing in the first and second period?

A: We were trying to do too much with the puck in the second period. We gave them the puck too often. Inside the blue line I think we are cheating the game a little bit. We have to be better top of the circle to top of the circle. We took a long shift when we scored, and then the next shift was a long one, there was some icings involved and we couldn't change and they built up some momentum. Tired guys make tired mistakes, so that compounds the problem. That is where you have to simplify the game and know where you are in the game, where to go with pucks and be able to get fresh bodies on the ice. We were fortunate to get out of the period with the score tied.

Q: It seemed like you had a ton of grade A chances but couldn't finish?

A: I would like a few more of those chances. I guess I am being picky as the coach. We have to get more of those second chance pucks in front of the net. We are not getting enough of those. On the flip side we gave up too many second chances to them.

Q: Your thoughts on Dylan Wells winning again while saving 45 of 47 shots?

A: Wells is making the saves he needs to make, but also making saves that are high percentage shots for them that you don't expect to make and that really helps. We just need for him to the make the saves he should make and we we will be fine. We have to clean up some stuff in front of him on rebounds, so the shot totals don't get so high.      

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division could be described as high octane offense with weak defense based on the results thus far this season. Check out these stats:

Four of the top six ECHL teams in average goals per game are in the Mountain Division. Kansas City and Tulsa are tied for #1 (3.91), Idaho is #4 (3.75) and Utah is #6 (3.44).

The bottom three ECHL teams in average goals allowed are in the Mountain Division. Allen is #29 (4.40), Utah is #28 (3.89) and Rapid City is #27 (3.50)

Five of the bottom six teams in average shots allowed per game are in the Mountain Division. Allen is #29 (41.20), Rapid City is #28 (35.50), Idaho is #27 (35.33), Wichita is #26 (34.67) and Utah is #24 (33.44).

 

- Depth scoring continues to be an issue for the Americans. The top line scored all three goals again last night. The four players that have played on the top line this season (Watts, Asuchak, Crnkovic, Brodzinski) have scored 18 of Allen's 23 goals (78%). Other than the first line goal scoring, five players have one goal and the rest of the team doesn't have a goal.  

- The Mountain Division is quickly becoming the tightest division in the league. There are five teams in the ECHL with point percentages above .700. The Mountain Division is the only division without one. The Mountain Division has had some unexpected results in the last week.  

• Idaho has lost three of its last four games including two at home to Rapid City. 
• Kansas City has lost two of its last three and has a home record of 1-2-0-1. 
• Allen has won three of its last four games. 
• Tulsa has won four of its last five games. 
• Rapid City has won three straight after losing nine straight to start the season.
• First year Tahoe has already beaten Idaho twice, Tulsa, Utah and Jacksonville. 
  

 

 

- It all makes for standings that look a lot different than last season when Idaho and Kansas City had from 30 to 51 more points than the rest of the teams. Here are the current standings by point percentage because games played varies from nine to 12. As a comparison the team's point percentage from a week ago is in parenthesis so you can see how the standings have tightened in the last week. A week ago point percentages varied from .813 to .167. Today it varies from .682 to .375.

• .682 - Tulsa (.643)
  
• .682 - Kansas City (.813)
  
• .611 - Tahoe (.700)
  
• .542 - Idaho (.635)
  
• .542 - Wichita (.667)
  
• .500 - Utah (.600)
  
• .450 - Allen (.357)
  
• .375 - Rapid City (.167)

 

 

- It is another busy night in the ECHL with 13 games on tap. Seven of eight Mountain Division teams will be in action (Kansas City is idle). Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-16 

    

 

DID YOU KNOW: ECHL active rosters must be reduced from a maximum of 21 players to 20 players by tomorrow afternoon (3:00 pm ET). In addition to the 20 players on the active roster, teams can carry:

 

- 2 players on reserve

- 1 player on 3-day injured reserve

- unlimited number of players on 14-day injured reserve

 

Coach Adams will have a decision to make after the game tonight. Will he trade or release a player to get the active roster down to 20 players. So much depends on if Allen gets out of the game tonight without any injuries and what is the status of Mark Duarte, who was injured in the game last night. It is possible Adams could buy some time because of players on injured reserve, but he will eventually have to reduce the size of the roster, so maybe he will decide to do that before the deadline tomorrow. 

  

Allen vs Utah Preview, Allen's Starts Since Joining ECHL, Time to Put Riley Gill in HOF, ECHL Players Leading Team in Points and Plus/Minus

It is game day for the Allen Americans as they take on the Utah Grizzlies tonight (7:10 pm) in the second of a three game series. After playing their best game of the season on Wednesday in the Americans 3-1 win over the Grizzlies, Allen will try and improve on its recent success of winning three of its last four games. 

 

- The game tonight will be the fourth of nine times these teams will face each other in the regular season. After game five tomorrow night Allen will not play Utah again for four months (March 16) Welcome to the ECHL schedule where Allen will play Utah five times in the first 24 days of the season and then goes four months before playing the Grizzlies again. 

 

- Allen is 2-1 in the first three games against Utah, losing 5-1 and then winning 6-4 and 3-1. Each team has scored 10 goals, but Utah has the shot advantage (111-85) despite the Americans outshooting the Grizzlies 37-27 on Wednesday. Allen is 3-10 (30%) on the power play while Utah is 2-14 (14.3%). Based on the head to head games the Americans match up very well against Utah. 

 

- One thing that has helped Allen is good starts. The Americans gave up the first goal of the game the first three games of the season, but since then have scored first in six of seven games including all three games against Utah. The Americans have scored first in all three of their wins this season and lost all four games when they gave up the first goal. That first goal will be key tonight. 

 

- How important is playing with the lead for these teams. Neither team has won a game when trailing after the first period (combine record of 0-8-0-0) or the second period (combined record of 0-8-0-0). The key for both teams is not playing from behind.

 

- Allen won the special teams battle on Wednesday by capitalizing on Utah's #29 ranked penalty kill (61.1%). Allen was 1-3 on the power play, but also stayed out of the penalty box, holding Utah scoreless in three power play opportunities. The Americans penalty kill hasn't been great, ranked #23 at 77.5%, but it is 16.4% better than Utah. 

 

- Here are some stats I don't typically include but they show the differences and similarities between Allen and Utah. Here is each team's roster by category:

• NHL/AHL contracted players: Allen (4) - Utah (5)
  
• Veterans: Allen (2) - Utah (1)
  
• Rookies: Allen (10) - Utah (16)
• 14-day IR: Allen (2) - Utah (2)    

 

- The keys to the game are the same as for the win on Wednesday:

• Get off to a good start by scoring the first goal.
• Limit the neutral zone turnovers, if there isn't a play to be made, dump the puck.
• Win the 50-50 battles.
  
• Win the special teams battle and take advantage of Utah's penalty kill.
• Keep the shots close.
• Continue the excellent goaltending. In the last three games Wells and Thornton have combined for a .950 save percentage, stopping 113 of 119 shots.
  

 

- It will be a two referee game tonight so players will have to watch the stuff that goes on behind the play when there is only one referee. The referees will be #42 Ryan Siegel and #23 Marc-Olivier Phaneuf.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- There has been a lot of discussion about how the Americans started this season compared to past seasons. So I dug into the files to get the Americans record after nine games for each season since joining the ECHL. How the season finished is in parenthesis:

• 3-5-1-0: 2024-25 (?????)
  
• 3-6-0-0: 2023-24 (lost in first round)
  
• 4-4-1-0: 2022-23 (lost in second round)
  
• 2-5-2-0: 2021-22 (lost in first round)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2020-21 (lost in second round)
  
• 7-2-0-0: 2019-20 (playoffs cancelled)
  
• 3-5-0-1: 2018-19 (missed playoffs)
  
• 4-3-2-0: 2017-18 (lost in first round)
  
• 4-5-0-0: 2016-17 (lost in second round)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2015-16 (won Kelly Cup)
  
• 6-3-0-0: 2014-15 (won Kelly Cup)

- The ECHL announced its 2025 Hall of Fame inductees this week and one of them was a goalie. Dave Gagnon, who played in the league from 1990 to 2001, had a stellar career earning two championships with Hampton Roads (1991) and Toledo (1994) and was named Playoff MVP both times.. By my count there are now seven goalies in the ECHL Hall of Fame. A fan asked me how do Riley Gill's stats compare to the other goalies in the Hall of Fame and I have to say very favorably. Riley's career was cut short because of injury so he doesn't have some of the longevity regular season stats as others, but when it comes to playoffs, Riley is at the top of the list. Only one goalie in the Hall of Fame has more championships than the three Gill won. Nick Vittucci, who the ECHL Goalie of the Year Award is named after, has five championship rings, four as a player. Here are some of Riley's all-time career stats.

Regular Season

• #2 - Most 30 win seasons (2)
  
• #3 - Career shutouts (21)
  
• #8 - Career wins (147)

Playoffs

• #1 - Playoff wins (53)
• #1 - Playoff games (90)
• #2 - Playoff minutes (5095)

Other Accomplishments

• Kelly Cup Champion - 2013, 2015, 2016
• Kelly Cup MVP - 2013
• ECHL Best Save Percentage (.935) - 2016-17
• ECHL Goaltender of the Year - 2017
• ECHL 1st All-Star Team - 2017

 

There is no set criteria for selection to the Hall of Fame. Some of the goalies went on to careers in the NHL, some had coaching careers in the ECHL and elsewhere after their playing days which could be a factor. Whatever the criteria is, as I have said before, its time to put Riley in the Hall of Fame. I have heard some say he is too young and it takes time, but Riley is turning 40 on January 1st and several of the goalies in the Hall of Fame were selected in their late 30's and early 40's. With the 2026 All-Star game scheduled for Allen, which will include the Hall of Fame ceremony, what a better time to put Riley Gill in the Hall of Fame. Git-R-Done!

 

 

- There are 12 games on the ECHL schedule tonight with seven of eight Mountain Division teams in action (Rapid City is idle). Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-15

DID YOU KNOW: Stumbled across this stat early this morning looking for something to post on my ECHL stats page. Asuchak, Crone and Hargrove are all off to great starts this season:

 

 

Seven ECHL players are leading their team in both points and plus/minus:

 

Hank Crone, Idaho (16 pts. +9)

Cade Borchardt, Kansas City (13 pts. +10)

Brady Fleurent, Norfolk (12 pts +7)

Spencer Asuchak, Allen (10 pts. +5)

Colton Hargrove, Florida (9 pts. +10)

Brett Budgell, Bloomington (6 pts. +4)

Brandon Saigeon, Indy (5 pts. +3)

School Game Day Success, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Division Standings and More

 

The Allen Americans won their first home game of the season in style yesterday morning, beating the Utah Grizzlies 3-1 with more the 3000 screaming kids in attendance. It was a great atmosphere for the Americans to play their best game of the season. How good did the team play? Let me count the ways:

• The one goal allowed was the fewest Allen has allowed all season.
• Allen outshot their opponent (37-27) for the first time all season.
• Allen's 37 shots was the most all season.
• The 26 shots allowed was the fewest all season by seven shots.
• At one point in the first period (from 6:52 to 19:56) Allen outshot Utah 12-0.
• Allen stayed out of the penalty box and won the special teams battle going 1-3 on the power play and 0-3 on the penalty kill. 
• Goalie Dylan Well's save percentage of .963 was the best for Allen all season. 

 

- Allen outshot Utah 14-8 in the first period but neither team was able to score. The first goal of the game didn't come until 11:21 of the second period on an Allen power play. Spencer Asuchak was in his office (right at the goal mouth) and deflected a shot from Easton Brodzinski into the net for his second goal in three games. Allen took the 1-0 lead into the second intermission which was a good sign since neither team had lost a game when leading after the second period or won a game when trailing after the second period.

 

- Allen's 1-0 lead held up until 12:46 of the third period when Utah's captain, Gianni Fairbrother put in a rebound. Fairbrother has been a one man wrecking crew against the Americans. He has four goals all season and they have all been in the three games against Allen. The Americans will need to give him special attention this weekend.

 

- Just when it was starting to look like the game was headed to overtime Brayden Watts took a pass from Spencer Asuchak, got in front of the defensemen and scored the game winner, his fourth goal of the season. 

 

- Utah pulled their goalie early (17:35) but the Allen defense was outstanding. The best sequence of the entire game happened with about a minute remaining. Utah was putting on the pressure but could not get the puck to the net. Forward  Mark Duarte put his body on the line and blocked three shots and you could tell by the way he got up each time they really hurt. When there was a stoppage with 13 seconds remaining and Duarte went to the bench, all of his teammates were acknowledging his effort. At that point Utah took a timeout and with the rest, coach Adams put Duarte back on the ice along with Asuchak and Brodzinski for the final 13 seconds of the game. It became a storybook ending as the guy that put his body on the line three times for his team, scored an empty net goal with seconds remaining. The goal was Mark Duarte's first point of the season.  

 

- Here are the video highlights with all of the goals plus some great saves, a fight and one of Duarte's blocked shots at the end of the game: https://echl.com/videos/utah-grizzlies-vs-allen-americans-nov-13-2024 

 

- If you want to read the Utah take on the game here is its recap: https://utahgrizzlies.com/news/2024/11/grizz-fall-3-1-in-road-trip-opener

 

- With all of the positives from the win against Utah the Americans are still struggling to get depth scoring. Four players (Asuchak, Brodzinski, Crnkovic, Watts) have 15 of 20 (75%) of Allen's goals and 20 of 28 (71%) of Allen's assists. Other than these four players, no other player has more than one goal. 

 

COACH'S COMMENTS

I had a chance to talk to coach Adams after the game and here is what he had to say:

"It was finally nice to get a win at home. It was a good all around game for us. We had some moments a couple times in the third period but we found a way and battled through it."

"It was a great team win, similar to the win we had in Utah last Saturday. On the game winning goal the defensemen got the puck out, Asuchak mad a great pass and Watty (Brayden Watts)  did what Watty does."

"With 13 seconds left we were talking about whether to put Duarte back out there because he was pretty tired and had blocked a lot of shots. We were deciding if he could could he get through the final 13 seconds. Utah called a time out which really helped us get some rest. We wanted Ass (Asuchak) to take the draw for sure and you need the commitment to block shots so we put Duarte back out there. The decision had nothing to do with getting anyone an empty net goal. It was all about who can get the pucks, who can skate, who is strong on the puck and it was not let's get Duarte a goal. It was great it worked out that way and he was very deserving of that goal the way he played today."

"Wells is doing what he does. He had a couple of blips when he first came down but he is just being him now and that is what he needs to do." 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- The Mountain Division continues to see some unexpected results. The two teams at the bottom of the standings (Allen and Rapid City) won yesterday while Idaho and Tulsa lost. The Mountain Division is now the only division without a team with a points percentage above .700. And who would have guessed at this point of the season the top team in the division by points percentage would be the upstart Tahoe Knight Monsters and Idaho would be in fifth place. Here are the current standings in points percentage order:

• .688 - Tahoe
• .682 - Kansas City
• .650 - Tulsa
• .591 - Wichita
• .545 - Idaho
• .500 - Utah
• .389 - Allen
• .318 - Rapid City

Allen has now won three of its last four games and improved its points percentage from .100 after a 5-1 loss to Utah on November 1 to .389 after a 3-1 win over Utah on November 13.

 

- Allen's power play has four power play goals this season and three of them are against Utah. This could be key to the two weekend games against the Grizzlies who are 7-18 (61.1%) on the penalty kill.

- With the ECHL having one year player contracts and the variability of players being assigned by NHL/AHL affiliates, significant improvement can take place from season to season. Here are three examples:

• Savannah finished outside of the playoffs last season with a .472 points percentage. This season the Ghost Pirates points percentage is .630.
• Iowa finished last in the Central Division in 2023-24 with a points percentage of .431. This season the Heartlanders are at .611.
• Last season Wichita finished last in the Mountain Division. This season they are tied for second in points and have a .591 points percentage.
  

 

- No ECHL team made a more conscious decision to get tougher this season than the Kelly Cup runner-up Kansas City Mavericks. Last season the Mavericks had 688 penalty minutes, the second fewest in the league. This season Kansas City leads the league with 215 penalty minutes and at its current pace will finish the season with over 1400 penalty minutes. 

 

 

DID YOU KNOW: Stick taps to ECHL defenses yesterday. Eight games and the winning teams allowed a total of just 13 goals, an average of 1.63 goals per game. That is better than any team defense in the league. Here are the top 10 ECHL teams in average goals allowed per game:

 

1.67: Florida*

1.75: Indy

2.00: Adirondack*

2.22: Kalamazoo

2.25: South Carolina*

2.56: Worcester

2.56: Bloomington

2.56: Tulsa*

2.70: Toledo*

2.75: Trois Rivières 

 

*Teams with points percentage above .650.

  

Allen vs Utah Preview, Roster Update, ECHL Points Per Game Leaders, Comment Questions Answered, Active Rosters Reduce to 20 on Sunday and More

With an early start tomorrow (10:30 am) for the School Day game against Utah I am doing the game/series preview a day early. Hopefully the morning game tomorrow will turn out better than Allen's other morning game this season. On opening day in Tulsa, early morning was not kind to the Americans as they were defeated by the Oilers 8-2.

- The good news for fans is the last time the Americans played Utah (10 days ago) it was on the road and Allen came away with a 6-4 victory. That was the game Allen was 2-3 on the power play and Easton Brodzinski had a hat trick. 

- Despite being shutout 4-0 by Tulsa on Saturday and still looking for its first home win of the season the Americans have won two of their last three games while Utah has lost two of its last three games. Here is a stats comparison between Allen and Utah:

• Goals scored average: 2.13 Allen - 4.00 Utah
• Goals allowed average: 5.13 Allen - 4.14 Utah
• Shots for average: 24.00 Allen - 34.17 Utah
• Shots against average: 42.15 Allen - 32.29 Utah
• Power play percentage: 12.0% Allen - 18.2% Utah
• Penalty kill percentage: 75.7%% Allen - 60.0% Utah

 

- What stands out from the stats above?

• The game should be a high scoring affair even though Allen has been shut out in three of its four home games this season. The reason there should be a lot of goals is the games pits the #29 ranked team (Allen) and the #28 ranked team (Utah) in the ECHL is goals allowed.
• Allen's power play has struggled (ranked #24), but two of its three power play goals all season were against Utah which has the worst penalty kill percentage in the league by 15%. 
• Allen's shot differential (shots for minus shots against) is -18.2 compared to Utah's +1.9 The Americans can't expect to win if the get outshot by 20 shots against Utah.

 - Allen has been outshot in all seven of its games this season, the only team in the league that has been outshot in every game. Utah, on the other hand, has different results. The Grizzlies are 3-1 when outshooting opponents and 1-2 when getting outshot. Shot totals will be a deciding factor in this series. 

- Good starts and playing with the lead is always important, but even more so with these teams. Utah hasn't lost a game when leading after the first or second period and hasn't won a game when losing after the first or second period. Almost the same for the Americans who are 2-0-1-0 when leading after the first period, 2-0-0-0 when leading after the second period, 0-5-0-0 when trailing after the first period and 0-5-0-0 when trailing after the second period. It is clear Allen doesn't want to be playing from behind.

 

- If you are looking for players to watch in this morning game was well as in this three game series, the player for Utah is #24 Gianni Fairbrother. He scored a goal in both games against Allen and totaled four points (3G, 1A). Utah's leading scorer, Neil Shea, who had a goal in the five games he played with the Grizzlies, including the two against Allen, is no longer with the team having been recalled to Colorado (AHL). For Allen the leading scorers in the two games against Utah were Brodzinski (3G, 0A) and Watts (1G, 2A). 

 

- There could be changes when transactions come out this afternoon but here is an update on the Allen roster:

Goalies 

• #33 Marco Costantini - Reserve
  
• #35 Anson Thornton*
  
• #39 Dylan Wells*

Defensemen

• #91 Ayo Adeniye - 14-day IR
  
• #3 Ryan Gagnon 
• #66 Artyum Kulakov 
• #55 Andrew Nielsen 
• #44 Nolan Orzeck 
• #21 Mike Van Unen 
• #2 Quinn Warmuth 
• #5 Hudson Wilson
  

Forwards

• #26 Spencer Asuchak
• #42 Robbie Baillergeon
  
• #24 Harrison Blaisdell
  
• #22 Easton Brodzinski 
• #16 Kyle Crnkovic*
• #8 Mark Duarte 
• #10Will Gavin* - 14-day IR
  
• #17 Riley Ginnell 
• #84 Liam Gorman 
• #14 Brayden Guy
• #86 James Hardie
• #70 Dakota Seamen - Reserve
  
• #11 Rylan Van Unen - 3-day IR
  
• #92 Brayden Watts 

*NHL/AHL contracted players

 

OTHER COMMENTS

 - Here are some news, notes and stats in the Allen Americans Weekly issued by the team: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/americans-weekly-update-11-11-2024

 

- The next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving will be key for ECHL teams that have been struggling. History shows teams more than five points out of a playoff spot at Thanksgiving rarely make the playoffs. Right now there are three teams more than five points out of a playoff spot. Cincinnati in the Central Division plus Allen and Rapid City in the Mountain Division. Allen will play six games before Thanksgiving; three at home against Utah, a home and home against Tulsa and a game in Rapid City in an effort to close the gap for the fourth playoff spot.  

 

 - There are three games on the ECHL schedule tonight. Kalamazoo is at Cincinnati, Fort Wayne at Wheeling and Iowa at Kansas City. Here are the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-12  

- There are 18 ECHL players with 10 or more points this season. Of the18 players there are six averaging 1.40 or more points per game. Notice they all come from the Western Conference and four of the six are from the Mountain Division.

• 1.70 - Brandon Hawkins (Toledo)
• 1.60 - Hank Crone (Idaho)
• 1.60 - Michal Stinil (Wichita)
• 1.50 - Kyle Mayhew (Fort Wayne)
• 1.44 - Sasha Pastujov (Tulsa)
• 1.40 - Ty Pelton-Byce (Idaho 

- I put this together for ECHL Stats about how teams have done as new franchises. 

Tahoe is off to a great start in the first seven games of its franchise. How does it compare to the first seven games in the history of these recently added franchises?

 

Savannah: 5-1-1-0 (.786)

Tahoe: 4-2-1-0 (.643)

Bloomington: 2-4-0-2 (.429)

Trois Rivières: 3-4-0-0 (.429)

Iowa: 1-5-1-0 (.214)

 

Tahoe is currently third in the Mountain Division (by points percentage) and Bloomington is fifth in the Central Division but it is very early in the season. Will they make the playoffs? 

 

Here is how the others finished in their first season:

- Savannah finished sixth in the South Division and missed the playoffs.

- Iowa finished last in the Central Division and missed the playoffs.

- Trois Rivières finished second in the North Division and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

 

 

Here are a couple of examples of teams that did very well in their first ECHL season, but didn't meet the criteria for the list above.

- The Newfoundland Growlers are no longer an ECHL franchise but when they started in 2018-19 were 4-3-0-0 in the first seven games, won their division and went on to win the Kelly Cup.

- Allen was an existing franchise in another league (CHL) but a new ECHL franchise in 2014-15. The Americans were 4-3-0-0 in the first seven games, won their division and went on to win the Kelly Cup.

 

 

 

QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMENTS

 

Questions continue to arise in the comments section of the blog. While many are ones I would never ask management to answer publicly and no team would ever agree to publicly answer, I picked out some of the questions I thought I could get answered and paid a visit to team president, Jonny Mydra. He wanted me to reiterate if you have any questions (on any topic) to and I quote, "email me and I promise I will respond, and even take phone calls or get lunch at Kelly's if you want." My sense is to continually comment in the blog about your concerns is not a very effective way to effect change. If the team president is willing to talk to you about any concerns you have, give him a chance. My personal experience is he is open, honest, not defensive, listens and is prompt in getting back to you. And to answer one of your questions/comments, the team nor any of the employees have ever asked me to change anything related to the blog. Maybe the fact that I am a volunteer gives me the latitude to run the blog as I see fit. Here are Jonny's answers to my questions:   

 

Q: Does the team have any interest or desire, or have you had any discussions with anyone about relocating this franchise in the immediate or long term future?

A: Relocating the team has never been mentioned to me by Myles, LJ, Zawyer or REV or anyone at the league office. Our lease with the City of Allen ends after the 2026-27 season, but I would project we agree to a new long-term lease extension before that one ends.

 

Q: Is there an out clause in the lease with the City of Allen if you don's achieve a certain number of wins, concession sales or the like?

A: No

 

Q: Are you personally committed to the franchise and its future?

A: My goal, just like the players, is to move up to the NHL one day. I have no interest in leaving Allen or the Americans for another minor league job, even in the AHL. I have  had a few opportunities come up in the NHL, but I don't want to leave unless it is the right position. Ownership is supportive of me going to the NHL if it is a big step forward in my career, but that is really the only reason I would leave.

 

Q: Serious question, why get rid of the Red Kingdom song? That was a great song. I'd think there is room also for the new "Come Together" song. Just a miss if you ask me? Kudos to Hallie Stuekrath who put the Red Kingdom mix together. Was awesome last season, bring it back.

A: Thanks for the shoutout to Hallie. We have heard the feedback about the Red Kingdom song, and she is going to reincorporate it more often. The Come Together video will be the intro video until around early January when we will probably introduce a new one. We like to keep it fresh. 

 

 

- The other question/comment that comes up all of the time relates to the role of  Zawyer and REV Entertainment. Because it is a work in progress a lot of the details and decisions are made each week. I have had a lot of discussions with many different people and there is no clear answers to many of the questions. As everyone knows the goal is to have REV take over from Zawyer. Right now Zawyer is still involved in all aspects of the business and hockey sides of the organization. Some categories are happening faster than others. I have been told the last two categories that Zawyer will have any say over is hockey operations and merchandising, but even they are beginning to fizzle out. What does seem set in stone is by the end of the season Zawyer will have no involvement in the Allen Americans at all.     

 

DID YOU KNOW: For the 1st month of the ECHL season the weekly salary cap is increased from $14,600 to $15,130 and teams can carry an extra player (21 instead of 20) on the active roster. That ends on Sunday (3:00 pm ET). Look for transactions to increase this week as teams meet this deadline. Some teams won’t have an issue because of players on injured reserve, but some teams will have to trade or release a player to get the active roster down to 20.   

What does the mean for Allen? It remains to be seen, but with three players on injured reserve, and two on reserve, the Americans active roster by my count is already at 20 players. 

Allen Shutout 4-0, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Allen to Host 2026 All-Star Classic, Mountain Division Goal Differentials and More

During the game last night ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin and Americans team owner LaSonjia Jack announced that the Allen Americans will be hosting the 2026 ECHL All-Star Classic. Here are the details: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/allen-named-as-host-of-2026-warriorechl-all-star-classic

 

The Allen Americans futility at home continued last night with a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the Tulsa Oilers before a sellout crowd of 6275 at the CUTX Event Center. The game was essentially over midway through the first period when the Oilers built a 3-0 lead which included two power play goals. When the dust settled on the first period, Allen had been outshot 24-9, the most shots allowed in a single period in the ECHL this season.

 

- Special teams played a big role in the game. The good news was for the first time all season Allen had more power play opportunities (4) than its opponent (3). The bad news is the Americans were 0-4 on the power play and Tulsa was 2-3. If you look at the last six Allen games the Americans have scored 0,0,0,2,0,0 power play goals compared to the opponents who have scored 2,2,1,1,0,2 power play goals. The Allen power play has fallen to #23 in the league (12.0%) and the penalty kill has fallen to #25 (75.7%). A combined power play and penalty kill percentage below 100% is considered poor and above 105% is considered excellent. Allen's combined percentage is 87.7%. The top ECHL combined percentage belongs to Tulsa at 119.0%.

 

- The shot totals after the first period were much closer though Tulsa had the edge, 13-9 in the second period and 9-8 in the third. The game total was 46-26 which follows the 47-28 shot total in Wichita on Friday. As long as I have been writing the blog coaches have quibbled about shot totals, some arguing under counts and at other times over counts. I have always felt the shot numbers average out over time and team comparisons are valid even if the totals aren't perfect. The fact is Allen has the worst average shots on goal per game and the worst average shots allowed per game in the ECHL. The top teams are averaging 12 more shots per game than Allen and giving up 18 fewer shots per game. That gap has to narrow for the Americans to be a winning team. 

 

- If you want the blow by blow game recaps here they are from both teams:

• Allen American: https://allenamericans.com/news/2024/11/americans-blanked-by-tulsa
• Tulsa Oilers: https://tulsaoilers.com/news/2024/11/oilers-buteyets-blank-americans-in-road-win   

 

- Here are the video highlight. In addition to the goals there are some of the 42 saves made by goalie Anson Thornton whose save percentage was .933. 

 

- Coach B.J. Adams met with the season ticket holders after the game to answer questions. Here is some of what he had to say:

Q: Was fatigue a factor given your team traveled overnight from Wichita and Tulsa hadn't played since last Sunday?

A: I hate using excuses, but Tulsa definitely had a really good jump in the first period. We talked about it before the game. They were getting to pucks first, they were winning the 50-50 battles and the score was 3-0 before we settled in. Once we settled in I thought it is was a pretty even game, but we can't spot them three goals. Yes, they were the fresher team, but we should have been ready to go, so no excuses. I was really disappointed in our start tonight.

 

Q: Will Seaman get an automatic suspension for his leaving the bench game misconduct?

A: I am not sure, but usually on a change like that, you can't have that stuff happen. I am sure something will be done from the league.

 

Q: Can you give us an assessment of where your team is at after a couple of good games on the road?

A: We are still trying to understand what our identity is. We do well at times, but sometimes we get away from it. After the first 10 minutes tonight and especially in the second period we had some good offensive zone time and some good opportunities. The third period in the win in Utah we gave up one odd man rush and just eight shot on goal to a team that came hard at us the previous five periods. We stuck to our systems and structures. We just have to be more consistent. Bottom line is we are getting there, we are not there yet and I want to get there quicker.    

  

Q: Are you worried about all of the shots on goal?

A: Most of them came in the first period and it was pretty close after that. The shots in the last three games have been much different than what he get on our analytics. In Wichita the boxscore had the shots 47-28 but when we got the InStat report in the morning the shots were 32-27. Tulsa is a team that throws everything at the net. I care more about what kind of shots our opponents are getting. Would I like our forwards to block more shots and our defensemen to block out better to avoid rebound shots, sure. I care more about where the shots are coming from than how many shots we face."

 

Q: Are you looking at guys in Europe to possibly bolster you roster?

A: We always have our tentacles in Europe. We have an European scout that I talk to frequently. We are always looking to improve and get better.   

 

- Next up for the Americans is a day game (10:30 am) on Wednesday against Utah. Allen will also play the Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday.

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen's home record is now 0-3-1-0 and the Americans are the only team in the division without a home win. It is not just a matter of losing at home, it is how Allen has lost. The Americans have been shutout three times, been outscored 22-4 and outshot 170-93. No way to sugarcoat those results.

 

-  Kansas City lost to Rapid City last night (5-2) and Idaho lost to Savannah (4-3). The top two teams in the division do not appear to be running off and hiding in the standings like they did last season. It is still early so that could still change. Here are the standings after last night:

• .722 - Kansas City
• .688 - Tulsa
  
• .667 - Wichita
• .667 - Utah
• .583 - Tahoe
• .556 - Idaho
  
• .313 - Allen
• .250 - Rapid City

- Another proxy for strength of teams is goal differential (goals for minus goals against). Here they are for the Mountain Division:

• +14 Tulsa
• +11 Kansas City
• +9 Idaho
• +6 Wichita
• +3 Utah
• -2 Tahoe
• -17 Rapid City
• -24 Allen

- Prior to last night there were just two hat tricks in the ECHL all season (Tyler Bird - Orlando and Easton Brodzinski - Allen). The number doubled last night. Anthony Repaci (Worcester) and Logan Lambdin (Florida) had hat tricks to lead their teams to victory. Colton Hargrove assisted on two of Lambdin's goals. 

-  Depth goal scoring has been an issue for Allen. Just three players have more than one goal; Brodzinski (5), Crnkovic (4) and Watts (3). These three players have scored 70% of Allen's goals. Four players have one goal and and the other 17 have none. 

 

- Dylan Wells and Anson Thornton have made 297 saves thus far this season in six games. Compare that to Adirondack's goalies who have 161 saves in six games. It shows you how much defense is a team sport. 

 

- Couldn't end the blog today without noting the Saturday night, big crowd, specialty jersey curse was on full display last night. Here is Allen's record by jersey type for the 36 home games last season. Allen's home points percentage was .486 so you can see the jerseys that over performed and under performed.

• Texas Jersey: 7-3 (.700)
• Red Jersey: 6-3 (.667)
• White Jersey: 2-6 (.250)
• Specialty Jersey: 2-7 (222)
  

 

DID YOU KNOW: Talk about some head scratching special teams stats both good and bad, check these out:

 

Adirondack has still not given up a power play goal this season. It’s 100% penalty kill has killed 16 straight penalties.

 

In addition, the penalty kill unit has scored four shorthanded goals in six games. When your PK outscores its opponents 4-0 thus far that is something to behold.

 

Norfolk is at the other end of the shorthanded goals spectrum. Norfolk has given up six shorthanded goals in 10 games. No other ECHL team has allowed more than two shorthanded goals. For the season the Norfolk power play unit has scored five goals but allowed six. 

 

Cincinnati has a combination of the worst power play in the league at 4.3% (1-23) with one of the best penalty kills at #4 (90.9%, 3-33).

 

Rapid City has the #1 home power play percentage at 41.2% (7-17), but on the road the power play percentage is just 6.7% (1-15).

 

Allen Wins, Game Recap, Video Highlights, Coach's Comments, Allen vs Tulsa Preview, Average ECHL Penalty Minutes Over Time and More

 

The Allen Americans made it two straight road wins with a 4-2 win in Wichita last night before a crowd of 3669 at INTRUST Bank Arena. Allen scored the first and only goal of the opening period on Brayden Watt's third goal of the season.  It was Watt's first time back in Wichita, where he played for four seasons and was captain of the team before signing with Allen. The Americans kept the lead the entire game after Watts opening goal.

 

- Kyle Crnkovic scored the only goal of the second period at the 11:32 mark to give Allen a 2-0 lead at the second intermission. It was a good sign for a couple of reasons. Allen had been outscored 13-2 in the second period prior to last night. It was good to see the team finally win a second period (1-0). The other reason the 2-0 lead after the second period was a good sign is teams rarely lose when leading after the second period. Allen is now 2-0 when leading after the second period, but across all ECHL teams this season the record when leading after the second period is 35-1-1-1.

- Wichita did cut the lead to 2-1 early in the third period (6:39), but Kyle Crnkovic scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season (16:09) to give Allen the insurance goal they needed. And they certainly needed it as the Thunder pulled the goalie and scored an extra attacker goal with 24 seconds remaining in the game. Wichita never managed a shot in the last 24 seconds and Spencer Asuchak scored his first goal of the season with nine seconds remaining to make the final score 4-2. If you were watching the game it looked like Asuchak's goal was an empty net goal as the net was empty. However, Aaron Dell was not quite off the ice when the puck went in the net so the goal was not considered an empty net goal. 

 

- Wichita had no answer for Allen's top line of Watts-Asuchak-Crnkovic. They scored all four Allen goals and had five of the six Americans assists. Asuchak tallied four points, scoring one goal and assisting on the other three. Crnkovic had two goals and an assist and Watts had a goal and an assist. 

 

- A second big reason Allen won last night was the play of goalie Dylan Wells who stopped 45 of 47 shots for a save percentage of .957. His 45 saves are the most in the ECHL this season. His 22 saves in the second period ranks #2 this season. After a couple of rough outings to start the season, Wells has been great in his last two starts saving 85 of 91 shots (.934). However, the Americans can't keep giving up 40+ shots and expect to win. Allen continues in last place in the league in shots allowed giving up an average of 41.71 shots per game. That is seven more shots per game than the next highest team. When you consider over half the teams in the league give up fewer than 30 shots per game, there is plenty of room for improvement in this critical stat.   

- A third big reason Allen won last night was the play of the penalty kill unit. One of the keys to the game was to stay out of the penalty box. However, Allen continued its trend of giving up more power play opportunities (5) than they had for themselves (2). Prior to last night the Americans had given up at least one power play goal in the last four games (6 PP goals in 4 games). Last night the Allen penalty kill was excellent going 0-5. 

 

- Allen not only won its second straight road game, but snapped Wichita's six game win streak, which was the longest in the league. After a horrendous start to the season when Allen was 0-3 and were outscored 21-2 the team has earned five of eight points (.625) over the last four games with three of the four points earned on the road.

 

- If you want more detail about the game here is the game recap from the Wichita Thunder: https://wichitathunder.com/news/2024/11/win-streak-snapped-on-friday-night-vs-allen

 

- Here are the video highlights: https://echl.com/videos/allen-americans-vs-wichita-thunder-nov-8-2024

 

- After the game I asked coach Adams about the play of the top line, the penalty kill and the goalie. Here is what he had to say: 

"The top line scored timely goals for us tonight. Watts scoring the first goal of the game started us off right. Crnkovic finished a nice play from a great breakout and gave us a little cushion which helped with all of the penalties we took in the second period. His second goal in the third period was big giving us a two goal advantage again."

"The penalty kill was good tonight. We didn't allow a lot of high percentage scoring chances. They had a lot of second chances in tight that I feel we can still clean up." 

"Wells was great again in goal. They tried a lot of wrap arounds and got a few rebounds off of them which increased their shot total. Overall, we didn't give up too many quality chances."

ALLEN VS TULSA PREVIEW

- It will be another big challenge for Allen tonight. The Americans jumped on the bus right after the win last night and traveled back to Allen, arriving early this morning. Tulsa did not play last night and hasn't played since last Sunday. So it will be a fresh Tulsa team against a tired Allen team tonight. Add to that the fact that tonight is a Saturday night, big crowd, specialty jersey game which many fans say is cursed. The facts don't lie. Last season the Americans record when wearing specialty jerseys was 2-7-0-0. 

 

- Tonight will be the second of 12 times Allen will play Tulsa this season. Hard to forget the first time these teams played. It was Allen's season opener, a day game in Tulsa and the Oilers crushed the Americans 8-2. Since that time the two teams have taken different paths. Tulsa won its first three games of the season but has lost three of the last four. Allen lost its first three games but has now won two straight and earned five points in the last four games. 

 

- As is the case with every game given Allen's bad start to the season the comparison stats all favor Tulsa:

• Goals scored average: Allen (2.4) - Tulsa (4.3)
• Goals allowed average: Allen (5.3) - Tulsa (2.9)
• Shots for average: Allen (23.7) - Tulsa (31.3)
• Shots against average: Allen (41.7) - Tulsa (27.4)
• Power play percentage: Allen (14.3%) - Tulsa (29.6%)
• Penalty kill percentage: Allen (79.4%) - Wichita (83.3%)

 

- The keys to the game remain the same, but may be even more critical tonight. Tulsa has the #3 ranked power play in the league. The Americans are unlikely to win if the give up five power play opportunities and get just two as they did last night. 

 

- Allen has scored first in its last four games with a record of 2-1-1-0. Tulsa has scored first in just three of its seven games and has won them all. The first goal tonight will be critical. 

 

- Goalie Anson Thornton stayed home from the long trek to Wichita and back. He is well rested and fresh for the game tonight and will get the start in goal. 

 

- I would be surprised if you don't see more balanced scoring in the game tonight. I expect there will be some lineup and line changes for the game against Tulsa. I will post the lineup later this afternoon. Here is Allen's complete roster without the changes when transactions come out this afternoon: 

Goalies 

• #33 Marco Costantini
• #35 Anson Thornton - Reserve
  
• #39 Dylan Wells

Defensemen

• Ayo Adeniye - 14-day IR
  
• #3 Ryan Gagnon 
• #66 Artyum Kulakov 
• #55 Andrew Nielsen 
• #44 Nolan Orzeck 
• #21 Mike Van Unen 
• #2 Quinn Warmuth - Reserve
  
• #5 Hudson Wilson
  

Forwards

• #26 Spencer Asuchak
• #42 Robbie Baillergeon
  
• #24 Harrison Blaisdell
  
• #22 Easton Brodzinski 
• #16 Kyle Crnkovic
• #8 Mark Duarte 
• #10Will Gavin
• #17 Riley Ginnell 
• #84 Liam Gorman 
• #14 Brayden Guy
• #86 James Hardie
• #70 Dakota Seamen 
• #11 Rylan Van Unen - 3-day IR
  
• #92 Brayden Watts

 

- It wasn't just the team that had to travel from Wichita to Allen for the game tonight. Referee Chazz Knoche was the referee last night and will be the lone referee in Allen tonight. 

 

OTHER COMMENTS

- Allen has made some progress over the last week but there is still a big gap between the top six teams in the division and the bottom two. Kansas City has been the star of the Mountain Division and has picked up where they left off last season. The Mavericks set the all-time ECHL record for road wins last season (29-4-2-1) and have started this season 5-0-0-0 on the road. Here are the Mountain Division standings by points percentage to account for the fact teams in the division have played as few as five games and as many as nine games:

• .813 - Kansas City
• .700 - Tahoe
• .667 - Wichita
• .643 - Tulsa
• .625 - Idaho
• .600 - Utah
• .357 - Allen
• .167 - Rapid City
   

 

- It is only two road wins, but Allen has the longest win streak in the division right now. The longest current ECHL streak without winning a game belongs Rapid City (9 games) and Cincinnati (7 games).  

 

 - Easton Brodzinski has scored a team leading five goals on just 23 shots for a shooting percentage of 21.7%. Of players in the league with five or more goals the leader in shooting percentage is Hank Crone who has five goals on 12 shots for a 41.7% shooting percentage. 

 

- Adirondack is the only remaining ECHL team with a 100% penalty kill. Adirondack has killed 14 straight. Along with a perfect penalty kill percentage, Adirondack has scored a league leading three shorthanded goals in just five games. The other eye popping specialty team percentage belongs to Kalamazoo, whose road power play percentage is 55.6%. 

 

- There is a full slate of games in the ECHL tonight with 28 of the 29 teams in action. The only team not playing is Wichita. Here is the ECHL Today with all of the previews: https://echl.com/news/2024/11/echl-today-nov-9  Here are Allen connected players (current and former) mentioned in the previews:

• Bloomington's Mark Sinclair has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his seven appearances.
• Colton Hargrove leads Florida with seven points (3G, 4A).
• Tulsa's Tyler Poulson has multiple points in four of his seven games.
• Allen's Kyle Crnkovic has three goals in his last two games.
• Rapid City's Chaz Smedsrud has five points (1G, 4A) in his last four games. 

 

DID YOU KNOW: How have penalty minutes (PIM) changed over time. Here is ECHL average PIM per game over time. There was some thought that by adding one more skater this season (17 to 18) teams would add toughness, and some did, it would lead to more PIM. Thus far it has not been reflected in average PIM as the downward trend continues:

 

2024-25: 12.30

2023-24: 12.99

2018-19: 14.89

2014-15: 16.70

2010-11: 17.52

2006-07: 21.45

2002-03: 25.65

 

In 2002-03 the PIM range was from 19.00 to 32.30.

In 2024-25 the PIM range is from 7.20 to 20.00.